Robots in the home – we just can’t seem to decide if the idea is terrific or terrifying. Yes, you wouldn’t have to do the ironing ever again but on the other hand they *might* just acquire sentience, rise up and kill us all. Tricky. Director Ruairi Robinson joins the likes of The Jetsons and Isaac Asimov, with his new film Blinky™, which stars Where The Wild Things Are’s Max Records. As the tagline says: Soon every home will have a robot helper. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe.
Where did the idea for Blinky first come from and how did you develop it?
Questions of inspiration are very hard for me to answer and I always regret it when I do. I’ll just say that it’s inspired by some things I went through. Things I hoped for, and things that let me down. Some of those things you can probably guess from watching the film. Some I have shielded under several layers of protective metaphor to keep it from being obvious. Also, I like robots.
Blinky – he sure is sinister for such a smiley robot! Who did you work with on Blinky’s design?
I designed Blinky yes. And built him in 3D. And played him in motion capture. And did the voice. And the lighting/compositing.
The cinematography felt quite creative and I liked the way that the not-so-distant future was hinted at but not over-egged. What were you trying to achieve with the overall look of the film?
A future that’s almost exactly like the present with subtle differences.
What was the biggest challenge involved in making the film?
The CG water on the robot.
